Flooring for Injury Prevention Trial

Summary

This study will evaluate the efficacy of novel compliant flooring in reducing injuries due to falls in a long-term care facility, determine the cost effectiveness of this intervention, and assess perceptions about compliant flooring among staff, residents, and families.

The investigators hypothesize that compliant flooring will (1) reduce the incidence of injuries due to falls in long-term care residents; (2) represent an overall cost-savings when material and implementation costs are considered relative to direct and indirect costs associated with injuries due to falls; and (3) be received positively by staff, residents, and their family members.

Conditions

• Accidental Falls
• Bone Fracture
• Traumatic Brain Injury
• Head Injuries, Closed
• Nursing Homes

Interventions

OTHER

SmartCell flooring

SmartCell (SATECH Inc., Chehalis, WA, USA) is a continuous rubber surface layer supported by an array of cylindrical rubber columns 14 mm in diameter, and spaced at 19 mm intervals. It has a surface hardness of 50 durometer. It has been reported to provide approximately 35% peak force attenuation during mechanical tests that simulate falls on the hip. It has also been reported to have minimal effect on balance and mobility of older women during activities of daily living. It will be covered with hospital-grade vinyl and will be inspected regularly for maintenance requirements.

OTHER

Plywood flooring

Plywood flooring covered with the same hospital-grade vinyl as the SmartCell flooring.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)

  collaborator OTHER_GOV

• AGE-WELL, Inc

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Fraser Health Authority

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Centre for Hip Health and Mobility

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• New Vista Society Care Home

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research

  collaborator OTHER

• Canada Research Chair Program

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, Canada

  collaborator OTHER

• Dr. Stephen Robinovitch

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Dawn C Mackey, PhD · Simon Fraser University

• Fabio Feldman, PhD · Fraser Health Authority

• Andrew C Laing, PhD · University of Waterloo

• Stephen N Robinovitch, PhD · Simon Fraser University

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

QUADRUPLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2013-09-01

Primary Completion

2017-08-31

Completion

2019-08-31

Countries

• Canada

Study Locations